Clients lose funds in bogus bank-site scam

Australian Federal Police are investigating a series of internet scams targeting Australian bank users.

International and local hackers have been setting up bogus replica bank sites with similar domain names with the intent of obtaining client details and funds.

Last week, Surry Hills police charged a 25-year-old man in connection with a Commonwealth Bank NetBank email scam in which online banking customers were tricked into divulging their usernames and passwords.

A Commonwealth Bank spokesman said the hackers quickly tried to remove funds from these accounts. He said the money was refunded to customers but would not elaborate. A number of other institutions have been affected by scams. "It's an industry-wide issue," he said.

AFP spokesman Steve Simpson said that "several" scams and perpetrators were being examined, with many of the incidents connected.");document.write("

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Last week, American-based hackers set up a replica Westpac Bank website, www.westpac-bank.com, which linked users through to the authentic site at www.westpac.com.au.

Westpac security said that confidential customer details were never at risk of being obtained by the owners of the nuisance site, who were "cyber-squatting".